Micargi hires Hoisington, looks to boost IBD business

In addition to his design duties, Hoisington will be responsible for rebranding select Micargi bike models — sold predominantly online and through the mass channel — as IBD-exclusive products and introducing additional models and categories under a new IBD brand name to be announced within the next month.

"Micargi is committed to providing top-quality products at a reasonable price in both its existing brand and the new IBD-exclusive brand," Hoisington said. "We will continue to support our existing customer base as we move forward with the new IBD-exclusive brand."

Julie Jiang, general manager at Micargi, said, "We expect big improvements in the quality of our product as well as the value of the brand."

Micargi currently sells through about 200 IBDs but is looking to expand that base in the coming years. The company's overall sales currently break down roughly 40 percent mass, 40 percent online and 20 percent independent retailers, according to Hoisington.

The rebranded models for IBDs will include low-end mountain bikes, cruisers, fixies and kids' bikes. Eventually new bikes will be designed from the ground up with improved component spec, Hoisington said.

"We'll be spending a lot more time on the fit and finish of the bikes than we do on the current bikes for Internet sales," he added.

In addition to its domestic distribution center in Southern California, Micargi owns and operates two manufacturing facilities in Guangzhou and Tianjin, China. The company maintains an inventory of 4,000 to 4,500 bikes at the DC in South El Monte, according to Hoisington.

"If we added to our dealer base 50 percent, we would have no problem filling that," he noted.